Danny Murphy fumes at new FA rules on talkSPORT after bizarre Josh Griffiths booking for West Brom
Danny Murphy unleashed a rant about new FA rules on talkSPORT after West Brom goalkeeper Josh Griffiths was booked for time-wasting against Stoke City despite his side losing the game.
Murphy urged referees to be sensible and use common sense when applying the new directives to time-wasting after a series of puzzling incidents since the football league season began last week.
The decision to book Griffiths during the 2-1 defeat in the Carabao Cup fixture was described as “complete nonsense”, with Murphy calling for the rules to be tweaked by the FA to become more realistic.
Speaking alongside Jim White on talkSPORT on Wednesday (9 August), Murphy exclaimed: “I think there’s some logic to it [the new rules], I think there’s also some ridiculousness to it. When you’re trying to apply these laws, you have to take into context the game of course.
“Last night, West Brom were losing the game 2-1, their goalkeeper gets booked for time-wasting. They’re losing the game, Jim, it’s not time-wasting! It’s just complete nonsense!”
Murphy went on to say: “Be sensible with adding on [time] for time wasting. Let’s not class certain things as time-wasting, let’s tweak this [new rules] a little bit so it becomes realistic.
“Pick and choose what’s relevant. How can you punish a goalkeeper for time wasting when his team is losing? Do you think that’s sensible? Is it sensible, or logical, or even in the realms of comprehension to book a goalkeeper for time-wasting when he’s losing?”
Plenty of controversy
Since the new FA laws were introduced at the start of the season, albeit less than a week ago, there has been no shortage of controversy.
Both goalkeepers were booked for wasting time in the Baggies’ Carabao Cup defeat to Stoke, while Barnsley goalkeeper Liam Roberts was also reprimanded for the same offence while his team were already 6-0 up.
The Championship’s opening fixture between Southampton and Sheffield Wednesday saw eight yellow cards given, with Wednesday’s keeper booked as well.
In the Community Shield clash between Arsenal and Manchester City, questions were asked over decisions to book Mikel Arteta and Thomas Partey in line with new rules surrounding protecting referees and time-wasting by kicking the ball away, despite the game being only 15 minutes in.
Murphy’s calls for the laws to be tweaked may well fall on deaf ears, but they are certainly going to take some getting used to.
In other West Brom news, one journalist unleashed a scathing assessment of West Brom’s defence.